Buy Me the Sky: The remarkable truth of China’s one-child generations

Jun 07, 2020

Xinran

426 responses.

Buy Me the Sky The remarkable truth of China s one child generations With journalistic acumen and a novelist s flair Xinran tells the remarkable stories of men and women born in China after the recent generations raised under China s single child policy At a time

With journalistic acumen and a novelist s flair, Xinran tells the remarkable stories of men and women born in China after 1979 the recent generations raised under China s single child policy At a time when the country continues to transform at the speed of light, these generations of precious one and onlies are burdened with expectation, yet have often been brought upWith journalistic acumen and a novelist s flair, Xinran tells the remarkable stories of men and women born in China after 1979 the recent generations raised under China s single child policy At a time when the country continues to transform at the speed of light, these generations of precious one and onlies are burdened with expectation, yet have often been brought up without any sense of responsibility Within their families, they are revered as little emperors and suns , although such cosseting can come at a high price isolation, confusion and an inability to deal with life s challenges.From the business man s son unable to pack his own suitcase, to the PhD student who pulled herself out of extreme rural poverty, Xinran shows how these generations embody the hopes and fears of a great nation at a time of unprecedented change It is a time of fragmentation, heart breaking and inspiring in equal measure, in which capitalism vies with communism, the city with the countryside and Western opportunity with Eastern tradition Through the fascinating stories of these only children, we catch a startling glimpse of the emerging face of China.

426 Comments

3.5 ⛤When I was young and naïve(r), I thought that some of the biggest issues had the simplest answers. Overpopulation of the planet was a hot topic, debated to death by my peer groups. People were starving and Bob was singing joyous songs that became hits all over the world that were going to save the masses. So, have less kids, improve infrastructure. Simple right?Xinran explores, on a minute scale the consequences of my easy solution to having less kids, China’s one-child policy that fro [...]

I am a big fan of Xinran’s books. It is still difficult to find female Chinese writers writing about women’s issues in China in English. While more Chinese women are taking up the pen regarding these issues, Xinran was one of the first. She was in China collecting women’s stories when many people in China thought those stories weren’t important. Her books The Good Women of China and Letters From an Unknown Chinese Mother were groundbreaking in their time. This time, Xinran has widened he [...]

This book describes 10 years of research done by the author on China's first generation of only children who began to reach normal marrying age and childbearing age in 2002. It was pretty interesting but I found some of the concepts a bit hard to understand. For example, the attitude of some of the parents towards their children and vice versa seemed quite extreme, and the pressure that is described as having been placed on only children by their parents and grandparents is scary.

Buy Me the Sky documents the lives of 9 only children from China's only child generation. Her clear passion for her country and her people shine in this book. It provides an interesting and thoughtful point of view to the only child generation and leaves me wondering what will come as the years progress. She touches very briefly on infanticide and the role of woman and daughters in a society where men and boys are much more valuable (but I believe she has another book about this issue). It inspi [...]

4 stars for its educational valueThrough its stories, this book offers an informal way to gain an insight to the truth of China's one-child policy. While we all know that this policy was launched in an effort to control the growth of China's population, the social consequences as a result is something to ponder about.

A bit of a slow read but it was worth persevering to the end. Xinran observes and analyses snippets of the lives of a number of young single-child Chinese people she encounters outside of China, mainly in the UK where they've come to study abroad. Their world views are sometimes quite different from what we in the West are used to, and their reactions seem (to me at least) completely illogical at times. I was wondering whether it's the author's original Chinese writing, or the English translatio [...]

I was born in 1980, the first year of the fully-fledged one-child policy and so when I spent some of my childhood in China, my schoolmates were the first generation to be affected by it. I've therefore always followed the development of the one-child policy closely and when I heard Xinran speak about this issue on the radio, I was keen to read the book and discover the results of her research.Unfortunately, I found the book to be highly anecdotal and greatly influenced by the author's opinions. [...]

I really enjoyed reading this book, for many reason. First of all it's such a interesting story. A story that I think is unknown by a lot of people. But most of all it set me thinking. Because this book is about my generation, most of them a little bit older tho. I was born in China and it's most likely that because of the one child policy I was put op for adoption.So I could have been one of those children who grew up getting everthing they wanted; not realising that one day they have to grow u [...]

Very interesting reading. I did wonder though is this not also indicative of modern children all over the world who are often spoilt and mollycoddled. I understand the numbers being higher with the policy making a nation of these children but as a mother nearly thirty year old children I am often astounded by the behaviours of a good proportion of today's youngsters, bought about by lack of good parenting. Conversely I have seen good examples of only children who are definitely well adjusted, no [...]

An interesting book about some Chinese children today. The single child policy in China has resulted in couples are putting all their love into one child, this child never learns to share as he has no siblings. In some, not all, families the single child is so loved and protected that the parents end up doing everything for that child, and I mean everything, think of a 19 year old boy off to college, his mother drives to college each weekend to stock him up on meals for the week, wash his clothe [...]

The book, to be precise, should be titled 'Xinran's experiences of encountering with children of one-child families'. If you are in expecting either an approachable scientific study or even a journalistic piece, you will soon find author's voice a little bit overwhelming and too personal to be called 'truth'.

Went to launch of this book in Asia House back in 2015. It took me a while to read it as couldn't set my mind to it.The book is interesting as widens knowledge of One Child Policy in China and the effect of it to real families.

My heart hurt reading this. Over the course of several years, Xinran got to know a number of Chinese youth born under the first generations of the imposed one-child policy of China, and presents here a kaleidoscope view of those generations coming to terms with adulthood in an increasingly globalized world, and how well or ill equipped they are to handle it. Each story is bittersweet, and is hard for me to absorb it without feeling a swell of emotion. The picture Xinran paints of a generation of [...]

The first children to be born under China’s one child policy are now in their mid-thirties. The consequences of such a policy have been enormous, and not always in a good way. One very serious downside is the huge gender imbalance with millions of men having to face the fact that they will never marry and have their own children. And then you get something like a devastating earthquake which collapses a school, and hundreds of only children are lost. Xue Xinran is a Chinese born journalist, br [...]

Extremely important to understand a bit more of what is the China of the only child. Their challenges, their extremes and the way sometimes all it takes is a little more of effort from the western world as well, to try and understand all the sides of China! Could not recommend more! Anything from Xinran is outstanding!

An interesting, and easy to read, collection of essays on the struggles of China's one-child families.As the parent of an only child, I could clearly see that my cultural background is significantly different to that of these children. In many parts of the book, the sweeping generalisations about only children annoyed me, and I had to keep reminding myself that this was their culture, and in mine its a different experience - children are treated differently, and only children aren't a new / enfo [...]

I think I should start by saying that I never read books like this. I am strictly a fiction kind of person and reading this book was quite different for me, especially because I was not expecting to enjoy it at all. However I can happily say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.This novel was smart, insightful and interesting. It gave me a window into the fascinating and foreign Chinese culture. The history was fascinating as was learning more about the lives of current chinese. The authors writing was [...]

If Xinran is right, then China is in for a world of pain with most of the individuals within the single-child generations. According to her they are largely venal, selfish, shallow, ignorant and unsophisticated. She sees this as a direct result of them being feted, pandered to and mollycoddled by parents who have everything invested in their one child and who frequently overestimate the potential of their precious offspring. This generation is used to being the centre of their own universe and s [...]

Xinran is a somewhat obvious choice for completing "X" on my 2016 Author A-Z challenge, but it's an author whose work I've enjoyed in the past. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Buy me the Sky, Xinran's investigations on China's "one child policy".This book follows the first generation of only children, to see what impact the policy has had on their family life. However, without exception the stories turned out to be detailed exposés of selfish children, their ineffectual parents, an [...]

Buy Me The Sky focuses on the stories of nine only-child Chinese young adults who didn't know how to do even basic things for themselves due to their parents having done everything for them eg hanging their clothes in the wardrobe. I believe that the people detailed in the book are extreme cases. When I was in China and met a lot of one-child people I didn't see anything similar to the cases in the book. All the only-child adults that I met were capable and well balanced. That said, my lasting i [...]

I purchased this after hearing the author Xinran on a radio show. In this book she explores the results of China's one child policy and the massive rate of change in China since the 1970's.Most of us have heard stories of China's Little Emperor's and Little Sun's - only children who are worshiped and mollycoddled by parents desperate to give their one and onlies every thing. It is leading to some big issues - from young adults (22 year old), unable to open and unpack a suitcase to children who p [...]

I am not a critic. I read to expand my knowledge of the world, dependent on other writers to fill me in on their experiences, their land in which they were born. For this reason I give Xinran 5 Stars. My mind was filled with lots of new thoughts at times overwhelming me with emotion.The more people share about what they are thinking and what their lives are like the better off we all are living together in this turbulent time. But has not this planet just been chaos and love and tumult and sorro [...]

3.5 stars. An interesting look at single child society. More anecdotal than academic, but maybe that is required when the subject matter is trying to focus on emotional issues rather than economic/political? And in some ways that is how the problems with the only child society has arisen - big picture economics without consideration of impact on the smallest unit of society - the family.I would have liked more balance from children across China, and even though Xinran is Chinese, she is still so [...]

As with the other Xinran book I have read - the good women of China, this book gives a very approachable and thought provoking insight into the world of individuals born under China's only child Policy. Xinran has an amazing ability to help each of her subjects to tell their stories with honesty and humility. For anyone that would like to learn about China's real people and gain an insight into what it is like to grow up in China as well as Chinese Culture and History and how it affects each per [...]

I read this for a book club where the author came to speak and I found it very interesting. The main issue she describes is single child families are reshaping China's culture from being family focused to individual focused. I might read some of her other books as this is an area (geography, history, etc.) that I am not familiar with at all. Her writing style is conversational and engaging. I'm sure I liked it more because of meeting her and hearing her speak - she was great, so I only reacted i [...]

I love Xinran but I didn't love this book. The consequences of the single child scheme in China should have been fascinating reading. Instead I found it repetitive and, dare I say, boring. I had no empathy for the children she interviewed (made up mostly of those she has met while they were abroad studying). No broad spectrum of status, they all seemed well off. I don't know if the translation was off or if they students spoke in such convoluted terms but I started skipping passages - sure sign [...]

An interesting read about the impact of China's one-child policy on today's society. I found it particularly interesting given that I have witnessed some of these stories firsthand during my time living in China. The author's voice is very strong in this book, stronger than in her previous books, and, at times, I found this irritating. Could be because I binge read the book over two days. Might have been more palatable spread over a longer period of time. A fascinating read for anyone interested [...]

Very interesting topic, which I wish the book had explored more. The author's voice is very strong, and sometimes quite judging. I found this a bit annoying, as I don't always agree with her. It's a collection of interviews and experiences with Chinese only-childs, and I feel the conclusions she draws are too simple. I would have loved to see it more fleshed out. It's a quick and easy read though, and it's not a bad book, I had just wished for more.

Very interesting book but unfortunately Xinran herself gets in the way of the story and this is a distracting element of a fascinating look at the lives of only children in China. My overwhelming impression is that the One Child Policy will one day be looked at an unfortunate experiment in China. The cost and the consequences will be huge.